Ice maker with oscillating movement during freezing



J. w JACOBS 3,451,227

Jqne 24, 1969 ICE MAKER WITH OSCILLATING MOVEMENT DURING FREEZING Filed Oct. 25, 1967 aw 2% ay 7 wfl fl NW .J%.M w w 6 fi Z ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,451,227 ICE MAKER WITH OSCILLATING MOVEMENT DURING FREEZING James W. Jacobs and Victor A. Williamitis, Dayton, Ohio, assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 25, 1967, Ser. No. 677,907 Int. Cl. F25c 1/18, 1/10 US. Cl. 62-345 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to liquid freezing apparatus and more particularly to domestic apparatus for making clear ice.

Commercial ice makers have successfully made substantially clear ice. However, such types are too large, complicated and expensive for ordinary domestic use.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple liquid freezer for household refrigerators in which the liquid container is oscillated during freezing to substantially eliminate dissolved air and gas as the liquid is frozen to form clear ice or frozen liquid.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of a household refrigerator embodying one form of our invention in which the liquid freezer is shown in the freezing position;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view somewhat similar to FIGURE 1 with the liquid freezer shown in the ejecting position;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary bottom sectional view taken along the lines 33 of FIGURE 1 looking upwardly upon the freezer as shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a Wiring diagram.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 1, there is shown a portion of a freezing compartment of a household refrigerator 20 including a freezing compartment 22 enclosed by a suitable liner 24 and heat insulation 26. The compartment 22 is kept at below water freezing temperatures by a compression type refrigerating system including a refrigerant evaporator 26 located in communication with the below freezing compartment 22 in which the liquid refrigerant evaporates at reduced pressures and is returned to the compressor 28 which is driven by an electric motor 30. The compressor compresses the refrigerant and forwards it to the condenser 32 where it is liquefied and returns it to the evaporator 26 under the control of a flow control device such as a valve 34. The air within the compartment 22 is circulated in heat transfer with the evaporator 26 by the fan 36 which is driven by an electric motor 38. Preferably this system maintains the temperature within the compartment 22 at temperatures averaging above 0 F.

Within the freezing compartment 22 there is located a cup-shaped mold 40 provided with radial fins 42 for better 3,451,227 Patented June 24, 1969 heat transfer with the surrounding air. This cup-shaped mold 40 is provided at the bottom with a coaxial shaft 44 rotatably mounted in a bearing 46 which normally holds the shaft 44 and the cup-shaped mold 40 in the vertical position during filling and freezing. The cupshaped mold 40 is filled with a liquid to be frozen, such as water, through the supply pipe 48 and the discharge pipe 50 which discharges the liquid into the mold 40 under the control of the solenoid valve 52. The supply pipe 48 and the valve 52 and a substantial portion of the pipe 50 are located within the insulation 26 to prevent the liquid from freezing in the pipes.

The bottom of the coaxial shaft 44 is provided with an off center pin 54. The coaxial shaft 44 may be provided with suitable thrust bearings above and below the hearing 46. The off center pin 54 provides a pivotal connection with one end of a connecting rod 56 provided upon the opposite end with a pivotal connection with a crank pin 57 upon the adjacent end of a drive shaft 58 driven by an electric motor 60.

The bearing 46 is provided within a bracket 62 having a hub 64 which is rotatably mounted on the pin 59 extending from a support 61. The mold 40 and the shaft 44 are normally held in the vertical position by a torsion type coil spring 66 coaxial with the hub 64 and the pin 59 and having one end connected to the hub 64 and the opposite end connected to the support 61.

As shown in FIGURE 4, a timer device 86 is provided to control the ice making cycle. The drive motor 60 is energized from the supply conductors 68 and 70 through the weight switch and the switch 72 operated by timer 86 and the branch conductors 74. The energization of the drive motor begins after the solenoid valve 52 has been energized by the timer 86 closing the switch 55 for a sufiicient period of time to meter the correct amount of water into the mold 40. The mold 40 is oscillated at a suitable speed until the liquid 78 is frozen in the mold. This continual oscillation causes the unfrozen liquid to repeatedly move circularly relative to the frozen liquid to eliminate dissolved gas and air at the freezing surface.

The hub 64 is pivotally connected to one end of a connecting rod '80 which extends around the bottom of the i drive shaft 58 and pivotally connects to the adjacent end of the plunger or armature 82 of the solenoid 84.

After a predetermined interval, the timer 86 opens switch 72 to deenergize the drive motor 60 and then closes switch 92 to energize the circuit from the supply conductor 68 through the conductor 88, switch 92 and conductors 94 and 96 to the solenoid 84. Solenoid 84 is also connected by the branch conductor 98 to the supply conductor 70.

The energization of the solenoid 84 pulls the plunger or armature 82 thereby pulling the cup-shaped mold 40 to the inverted position shown in FIGURE 2 against the force of the return spring 66. At the same time through the connection of the branch conductor 121 with the conductor 94 and the branch conductor 123 with the supply conductor 70, an electric heater 125 is energized simultaneously with the solenoid 84. This heater is located in the adjacent portion of the liner 24 opposite the inverted position of the mold 40 and heats the mold 40 sufficiently to cause the frozen liquid 78 to be ejected therefrom and fall into the receiving bin 127 immediately beneath. The timer 86 then opens the switch 92 and deenergizes both the heater 125 and the solenoid 84. This releases the plunger or armature 82 and frees the hub 64 and the bracket 62 for return under the force of the spring 66 to the normal upright position. The bracket 62 may be stopped in the upright position by a suitable stop pin 129. After reaching the upright position, the cycle can be repeated as often as required under the control of the timer 86 to provide a suflicient supply of frozen liquid in the bin 127. The repetition of the cycle is determined by the weight control switch 90 which terminates all ice making functions whenever the bin is full or when it is not in its proper place.

While the embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

We claim:

1. A liquid freezer including a substantially cupshaped mold adapted to hold a liquid to be frozen and having a bottom wherein the improvement comprises providing said bottom with a substantially coaxial shaft, means for supplying the mold with liquid to be frozen, a bearing for rotatably supporting said coaxial shaft, means for cooling air below freezing temperatures of the liquid to be frozen and circulating the cold air in heat transfer with the mold to cool the mold to temperatures below the freezing temperatures of the liquid, drive means comprising a drive shaft and oscillating transmission means between said drive shaft and said coaxial shaft for oscillating said coaxial shaft, means for energizing said drive means to oscillate the mold upon the axis of said coaxial shaft during the cooling of the mold below freezing temperatures and the freezing of the liquid, a bin for receiving frozen liquid, means for tilting said bearing to move the mold over said bin, and means for ejecting the frozen liquid from the mold into the bin.

2. A liquid freezer including a substantially cup-shaped mold adapted to hold a liquid to be frozen and having a bottom wherein the improvement comprises providing said bottom with a substantially coaxial shaft, means for supplying the mold with liquid to be frozen, a bearing for rotatably supporting said coaxial shaft, said cup-shaped mold being provided with external heat transfer fins, means for cooling air below freezing temperatures of the liquid to be frozen and circulating the cold air in heat transfer with said mold for freezing the liquid therein, drive means comprising a drive shaft and oscillating transmission means between said drive shaft and said coaxial shaft, means for energizing said drive means to oscillate the coaxial shaft and the mold during the cooling of the mold below freezing temperatures and the freezing of the liquid therein, a bin for receiving frozen liquid, means for tilting said bearing and said mold to move the mold over said bin, and means for heating said mold in the tilted position to free the frozen liquid in the mold for discharge into said bin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1952 Kirkpatrick 6268 11/1959 Haller 6268 US. Cl. X.R. 62-68, 233 

